Not All Heroes Wield Lightsabers
by jkleeberger22
Summary: "We won't forget any of them." During the Ewok celebration on the moon of Endor, Luke, Leia, and Han pause to think about the lives that were lost to help bring them victory. Warning: spoiler for Rogue One.


Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the Star Wars universe. I wrote this for my own pleasure and not for any profit whatsoever.

Author's Note: I watched Rogue One and enjoyed it. I wrote this because I felt like it was necessary for all our favorite characters from the originals to know about and remember the sacrifices that helped secure their final victory against the Empire. Also, I liked the idea of R2 and C-3PO knowing K2-SO at one point (They were at the Rebel base, after all) and having a sass off! Please don't take this seriously: Since I just saw Rogue One, I'm not exactly sure what is cannon. This is just me having my bit of fun. :)

O0o

Music and whoops filled her ears, and the smoke of the bonfires stung her nose. Feeling slightly overwhelmed, Leia sank down on a log and resisted the temptation to hug her knees against her chest. Even in the middle of a forest, surrounded by furry creatures that resembled teddy bears, she had to maintain her role as a princess and as a leader of the successful Rebellion. Her initial elation, however, was slowly fading into something more melancholy. So many people had fought for this victory, but now would never dance to celebrate it. So many had watched cities and even a whole planet explode, but now would never watch fireworks burst overhead. So many had held dying loved ones in their arms, but would never hug a child, a brother or sister, a parent, or a friend in gleeful celebration. So many had died; So many would be forgotten, the many who had not wielded flashy lightsabers, led at the front, or delivered the fatal hit to the Death Star.

"Leia? Is something wrong, your Highness?" Han plopped down beside her, one hand slipping around her waist. "You don't want to dance with the fur balls?" His other hand gestured at Threepio, who was unexpectedly doing just that. "Yeah, I think I agree with you on that one."

Leia smiled, then noticed Luke's concerned eyes on her from across the clearing. He wove his way around the pairs of dancing Ewoks and came to her side.

"Was I that obvious?" Leia asked.

"No. It was just Jedi intuition," Luke explained.

Han gave Leia a slightly crooked grin, and, as always, couldn't resist putting in a good word about himself. "And I don't need Jedi senses. I'm just observant."

Leia decided not to point out that, until that day, Han had believed that she had romantically loved her brother. "I was just thinking about all the sacrifices that have been made to make our victory today possible," she admitted instead.

"Alderaan?" Han asked, giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze.

"Yes, Alderaan, the Bothans, the first attack on the Death Star, Hoth, here, Scarif," Leia said, counting them on her fingers. She sighed. "There were too many, Han."

Han was familiar with all the named battles, having been a part of or having observed most of them, but the last was a name he had heard less often. "Scarif was when you stole the plans to the first Death Star, right?" he asked, just to clarify. When Han had experienced his first run-ins with the Rebellion, he hadn't heard of the Battle of Scarif. Since that had been when the Imperials had lost the plans for the first Death Star, they hadn't been eager to broadcast it. The rumors Han had heard about it had been foggy, and Luke on his empty-except-for-sand planet moisture farm had heard even less. The first clear account they had gotten of the events on Scarif had been from the Rebellion history briefing Leia and Mon Mothma had later given them. Then Alderaan had been, and would probably always be, the most famous Death Star casualty.

"No one in the Rebellion today stole them personally. Everyone who fought on the ground at Scarif died," Leia said. "Without them, we wouldn't be here today."

Artoo rolled up and whistled something none of the trio could understand. Threepio followed him and dutifully translated, "Artoo says the droids are always forgotten. He doesn't want you to forget Kay-Tu."

"You seem less than thrilled," Han noted suspiciously.

"He told me I had no tact!" Threepio sniffed. "And I asked him what he knew about tact." The droid clearly thought that had been a very clever retort. "He was certainly less than polite himself, saying everything that came into his mind."

"Sounds familiar," Han muttered. Threepio looked at him with his head cocked, about to question what Han had said, but the former smuggler quickly cut him off. "And?"

"And he said he knew nothing about tact, that he was just a security droid with a specialty for strategic analysis. But he implied that since my specialty is human cyborg relations, I certainly should."

"Makes sense to me," Han shrugged. "I think I would have liked this droid."

"He wasn't at the base much, but he was our friend. Wasn't he, Artoo?" Threepio said. Luke smiled: At one point, he wouldn't have believed that two droids (or people) who cared deeply for each other could at the same time be constantly jibing each other. He had long since seen that wasn't true, with examples of the principle ranging from Threepio and Artoo to Han and Leia.

"We won't forget Kay-Tu," Luke promised, then glanced at Leia. "We won't forget any of them."

Abruptly, he got up and strode over to the Ewoks who were still happily banging on the Stormtrooper helmets. He spoke to them, and the gleeful music subsided.

Luke turned to the dancers and raised a hand. "A moment of silence please, for those who helped make the destructions of the Death Stars possible and lost their lives. They were not taken from us in vain! By their sacrifices, our peace was won. Our victory today is theirs, just as much as it is ours."

Leia smiled: Some of Luke's farm boy naivete had died during the course of abundant air fights and lightsaber duels, but the best of the ideals had endured.

Everyone murmured in agreement with Luke's words, then subsided into a deep, thoughtful silence. When it ended, suddenly everyone was sharing memories, even the Ewoks, of those they had known who had died in the fight against the Empire. Of Obi-Wan, of Bail Organa and Alderaan, of the Bothans, of Scarif, of friends and comrades in Rebel squadrons, of everyone they could remember and ending with a respectful tribute to anyone they might not have heard about. They wanted no one's part to be forgotten.

When they had finished, the music, the dancing, and the laughter began again. "The moment of silence was for them," Han said. "But the celebration honors their memory, too." He turned to Leia with his hand outstretched and a grin slowly spreading across his face. "May I have the pleasure, your Highness?"

Leia offered him a poised smile and spoke with the dignity of Alderaanian royalty: "You may."


End file.
